Blog #4

After yet another relaxing weekend spent in the beautiful city of Barcelona, my friends and I were ready to begin another week of classes at the ABC language school. When Monday morning arrived, my friends and I encountered three new students in our A 1.2 Spanish class. They were from France and had a slightly harder time in the class than we did and so we realized that the level had become too easy for us; we requested a transfer to a higher level and were extremely excited to be placed in the A 2.2 level. Skipping level 2, I knew that I would be encountering a true challenge in class from now on. This meant that it would be my responsibility to review a lot of the material at home since I chose to take such an accelerated course, but I was excited to except the challenge nonetheless.

This is such a beautiful place!

As our group activity for the day, we were taken on a spectacular boat tour around Barcelona. We got to see the city from yet another perspective and to really absorb the outward beauty as we had some fun with our friends from Germany, Austria, Sweden, Holland, and Switzerland. Singing along to German techno music (to the best of our ability), my friends and I had a blast enjoying the feeling of being at the front of the boat as it was rocked by the sea. On Tuesday we were taken on another enjoyable trip to the beach where we had the choice of playing a number of sports like beach ball, racquetball, or swimming. And again, I felt exhausted at the end of the day but truly satisfied.

One of the most beautiful places in Barcelona!

The next day we were taken to one of the most beautiful places I’d seen in Barcelona- The Labyrinth. It was a park that had an actual labyrinth formed out of bushes that kept leading us into dead-ends until we finally found a way out. The reward for successfully exiting the labyrinth was the indulgent beauty of the nature blossoming around beautiful fountains. The place was extremely green and tranquil- one of those places that made you swear the trees were trying to whisper something to you. I enjoyed our walk through the park greatly as I bonded with other students from our group as we inhaled the delightful aromas offered by the various flowers growing everywhere. It was a truly romantic place that I would like to visit again in the future.

The cutest fountain ever!

Friday’s excursion was a truly memorable one that had left a deep impression in my mind; we went to see the Sagrada Familia. A cathedral mastered by Antonio Gaudi, the Sagrada Familia resonated with intricacy and profound beauty. Just the sight of this structure was enough to steal my breath away but when I entered its enchanted doors, I was simply dumbstruck. My knees began to tremble (no exaggeration) as I walked through the church. The word “Perfect” kept echoing in my mind as I admired the stained glass windows and perfectly chiseled stone spiraling stairways. We got to see Barcelona from the very top of the cathedral; we rode an elevator up to indulge in the incredible view. The week came to a satisfying and exhilarating close as we spent our Saturday at Isla Fantasia water park outside of Barcelona; sadly however, I couldn’t enjoy the last few days of the week to the fullest because I caught a cold during the week because of how quickly the weather began to change.

Sagrada Familia!

After two weeks of pure beauty, sun, and Barcelona heat, the city cooled down and it rained for several days during my third week in the city. However, it was only a cold and I was on my way to feeling as good as new…